Hasan al-Basri
Hasan al-Basri
About this Episode
An exploration of Hasan al-Basri, a voice of conscience who challenged the misuse of religious language in the pursuit of power.
circa
700
The Hunger That Power Cannot Feed
Ibrahim ibn Adham
About this Episode
The story of Ibrahim ibn Adham, the 8th-century king of Balkh who abandoned his throne to become a wandering Sufi mystic.
circa
750
The Fire of Love
Rabi'a al-Adawiyya
About this Episode
we journey to 8th-century Basra to meet Rbia al-Adawiyya, the mystic who carried a torch and a bucket through the night, vowing to set fire to heaven and extinguish hell.
circa
752
The Fire That Did Not Go Out: Al-Hallaj and the Proof of the Soul
Al-Hallaj
About this Episode
Harmonia tells the story of al-Hallaj, the Sufi mystic executed in 922 CE whose witness lit a fire that outlasted an empire.
circa
922
The Book of Light Flashes: How Abu Nasr as-Sarraj Named the Sufis
Abu Nasr as-Sarraj
About this Episode
How one patient scholar gathered scattered mystics into a tradition we now call Sufism.
circa
970
The Flame and the Chain: Al-Qushayri and the Inner Life of Islam
Al-Qushayri
About this Episode
Al-Qushayri defended the inner life of Islam by insisting that mystical experience alone cannot validate itself --- and that the light always comes from beyond the self.
circa
1045
The Sage Who Refused to Choose: Abdullah Ansari of Herat
Abdullah Ansari
About this Episode
Abdullah Ansari of Herat refused the false binary of faith vs. reason, living as both rigorous scholar and Sufi mystic in 11th-century Afghanistan.
circa
1050
Ibn ʿArabī and the Widened Heart
Ibn Arabi
About this Episode
This episode explores the life of Ibn ʿArabī, a poet, mystic, and philosopher shaped by the open intellectual culture of Islamic Spain.
circa
1200
Shams of Tabriz: The Stranger Who Changed a Poet
Shams of Tabriz
About this Episode
Shams of Tabriz-the wandering dervish whose fierce honesty transformed Rumi
circa
1244
The Seamless Life: Ibn Ata Allah and the Book of Wisdom
Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari
About this Episode
Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari transformed Islamic spirituality with his Book of Wisdom, rescuing the inner life from legalism with 261 timeless aphorisms.
circa
1290